Useful sentences
What people do in their free time — and why.
Grammar
Joining two sentences together, and the small, friendly -je ending that's everywhere in Dutch.
Subordinate clauses
A sentence can be made of several clauses — each one a full sentence in its own right, with a subject, verb, and rest — joined by a coordinating conjunction:
| en | and | dus | so |
| maar | but | want | because |
| of | or | omdat | because |
Normally the clause before and after the conjunction both keep the SVR shape. omdat is the exception.
Both want and omdat mean "because" — so what's the difference?
- After
want, the order stays SVR. - After
omdat, it flips to SRV — the rest and the verb swap places.
| English: | Sport is good, because sport is healthy. |
| Dutch: | Sport is goed, want sport is gezond. S V R S V R |
| Sport is goed, omdat sport gezond is. S V R S R V | |
| English: | I like to draw, because I'm creative. |
| Dutch: | Ik teken graag, want ik ben creatief. S V R S V R |
| Ik teken graag, omdat ik creatief ben. S V R S R V |
Starting with omdat
A sentence can start with omdat — but never with want. When omdat opens the sentence, the second clause takes VSR: Omdat ik wil afvallen, sport ik veel.
Diminutives
English doesn't really have these, but Dutch (like German, and plenty of other languages) does — and uses them constantly. The diminutive isn't just for small things: it's used for anything sweet, cute, funny, or even mildly annoying, and sometimes just to turn a word into a noun.
The basic formula is noun + je. Depending on the sound of the word, that becomes -tje, -etje, -pje, or -kje instead.8
| English | Noun | Diminutive |
|---|---|---|
| child | het kind | het kindje |
| nose | de neus | het neusje |
| dog | de hond | het hondje |
| house | het huis | het huisje |
| vehicle | de kar | het karretje |
| stall | het kraam | het kraampje |
| chain | de ketting | het kettingkje |
| ring | de ring | het ringetje |
| ball | de bal | het balletje |
| hobby | de hobby | het hobby'tje |
| car | de auto | het autootje |
8. More on diminutives: dutchgrammar.com — most dictionaries list the diminutive form too.
Exercises
Combine sentences with conjunctions, then practice your diminutives.
1Combine each pair into one sentence
Make one version for every conjunction listed.
Example
Ik ga naar Nederlandse les. Ik wil Nederlands leren.
en: Ik ga naar Nederlandse les en ik wil Nederlands leren.
- AIk ga naar Nederlandse les. Ik wil Nederlands leren. — try: want, omdat
- BIk ga naar de Nederlandse les. Ik ga niet naar de Engelse les. — try: en, maar, dus, omdat
- CIk ga naar de Nederlandse les. Ik ga naar de Engelse les. — try: en, of, omdat
- DIk was te laat. De brug stond open. — try: en, omdat, doordat
2Translate, then find the diminutive
3Your turn
Write a short story using each of: en, dat, maar, of, als, want, omdat, doordat, dus.
Word list
Sports, hobbies, and the conjunctions that connect a story together.